James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) saw a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 86,500 shares, a drop of 75.6% from the September 30th total of 353,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 105,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of James Hardie Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th.

James Hardie Industries Stock Down 1.9 %

James Hardie Industries stock traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 39,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,309. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.76. James Hardie Industries has a 52-week low of $24.28 and a 52-week high of $43.57.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The construction company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $991.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 12.78% and a return on equity of 38.01%. James Hardie Industries’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that James Hardie Industries will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JHX. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,162,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 186.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 335,239 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,564,000 after purchasing an additional 218,033 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of James Hardie Industries by 39.7% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 313,931 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $12,697,000 after purchasing an additional 89,165 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries during the third quarter worth about $2,369,000. Finally, Boston Common Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,671,000. 7.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc manufactures and sells fiber cement, fiber gypsum, and cement bonded building products for interior and exterior building construction applications primarily in the United States, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and the Philippines. The company operates through North America Fiber Cement, Asia Pacific Fiber Cement, and Europe Building Products segments.